SlimSox's Recovery Track by Track Review (VERY LONG!)

[slimsoxshady]

I know y'all have been awaiting my review (probably not but I'm still motivated).
I didn’t exactly do all that well on the verbal portion of the SAT’s so sorry if I don’t use enough big words for you. Let’s begin...

Cold Wind Blows - I liked the intro. Then the beat dropped and at first i wasn't feeling it with the first line being "you can get the dick...". I thought, oh shit, here comes Encore. Then the first verse ended and the hook starts. Very awkward hook at first but after 4-5 listen it's very melodic and it’s actually on of my favorite hooks on the album. Lyrically monster track. Verses have some cool punches and word play and the delivery is flawless. Beat knocks with a real nice bass. Love the Mariah line at the end of the first verse:
"But take a look at Mariah the next time I inspire you to write a song, cmon"
8.5/10

Talkin 2 Myself - Epic hook for an Eminem track, the first of many great non-Eminem hooks. Real talk on the verses, a big plus after Relapse. Simple rhymes but fuck it, they’re effective. Sounds very sincere. As a song, it's great and compliments all the real lyrical tracks well. Wayne haters must love all the Weezy shout outs these days lol. Real lyrics straight from the heart. This track has amazing potential for replay value. Favorite line:
"It isn't them it's you you fuckin baby
Quit worrying about what they do and do shady
I'm fucking going crazy"
10/10

On Fire - Just like Mr. Porter said. It's like this song takes it back to the Hip Hop Shop days. Hook is authentic for what this track is trying to be. Straight heat, nuff said. Favorite lines:
"Shit dissin me is just like pissin off the wizard of oz
Wrap a lizard in gauze beat you in the jaws with it
Grab the scissors and saws and
Cut out your livers gizzards and balls
Throw you in the middle of the ocean in the blizzard with jaws"
8/10

Won't Back Down - I like some of the punchlines in this track and the energy the flow brings. He talks about NOTHING on other tracks as well but this seems more annoying than the others. Beat is pretty hype. Hook is nothing special, but not bad either. I guess if Recovery was a mediocre album, this song might actually get more attention but it’s just mediocre to me. Favorite line:
"Shady's right back on your bitch ass
White trash with half a six pack in his hatchback
Trailer hitch a-ttached to the back (dispatch)"
6.5/10

W.T.P. - Second track in a row that’s mediocre at best. It sounds kinda cool and for a white guy like myself, obviously the hook is pretty funny. However it sounds somewhat Encore-ish to me and that’s not a good thing. Decent lines with a good flow over a typical club beat. I guess Em had to put a fun track on this serious and at times very emotional album so I’m not complaining. Still not a skippable song at all, just mediocre compared to what’s to come in the next song.
6.5/10

Going Through Changes - Epic sample. I like how the verses seem to be in chronological order from the last 4-5 years. It's cool that he did the Mockingbird flow/rhymes for a bit in the fourth verse. Realest of real talk kinda track. I like how he's giving his fans shout outs after hating on us on tracks like Don't Approach Me lol, fuck him. Beat it pretty epic too and i especially like that lil second base drum panned right. Definitely can see myself playing this song for many years. Favorite line:
"Yeah Em, tight verse, you killed it" - you know why i picked that one if you think about the producers and engineers and artists sitting there with him listening to songs like Fack, Big Weenie, Pistol Poppin, Touchdown, etc... LOL
10/10

Not Afraid - I've already said enough about this song, i love it. Perfect lead single IMO. Unlike many others, I enjoy the beat as well. Favorite line:
Forget the Earth he's got the urge to pull his dick from the dirt, and fuck the whole Universe"
10/10

Seduction - Fuck the haters of this track. I've never heard Em do this kind of track before and shit sounds fresh. His swag is definitely at an all time high on this one. Anyone else catch the Jay-Z addlibs? Boi-1da absolutely murders this beat, i love that snare. Crazy replay value ahead for me with this track. Such a hypnotizing hook, awesome. Switch to double time was great. Once again swagger on a hundred thousand million. Favorite line:
"They call me fire Marshall, I shut this shit down"
10/10

No Love - "You're thinkin like an alien it just ain’t realistic." LOL. But I knew this would be my favorite track on the album and it's up there with the other 10/10 tracks. I love how this track just speeds up as it goes and gets more and more hype. Weezy went hard for the first time since forever, no pun intended lol. Em's new double time flow is definitely nice on this. Best Em verse of all time? Could make an argument. Really hype southern beat by Just Blaze on this. Too many great lines to pick a favorite one.
10/10

Space Bound - Like Seduction, never heard this type of song from Em before. Love the hook just like I love all the non-Eminem hooks on this album. Great lyricism. Sounds like a very mature track that I would have never expected from Eminem after Relapse. Jim Jonsin should now get a spot on every Eminem album from now on imo. Favorite line:
“It’s like an explosion every time I hold ya wasn’t joking when i told ya
you take my breath away, you’re a supernova”
10/10

Cinderella Man - DAMN, the middle section of this album is incredible. The Till I Collapse of Recovery. His voice even sounds like Till I Collapse. Wow at some noob making this beat and Eminem somehow getting his hands on it. I love the non-Eminem chorus once again, he should really minimize his hooks to about 5 on his albums from now on imo. Some are great but I liked the features on the hooks better on Recovery. Flow is perfect for this track, shit really pumps you up. I feel like i just took some steroids. 2 favorite lines on this one:
“So batchin your eyelashes and keep winking and blowing kisses cuz you’re flirting with death”
“My fillet are smoking weed, yea faggot the steaks (stakes) are high” - awesome
10/10


25 To Life - FUCK ME, so many incredible songs in a row. I’ve heard many artists attempt this type of song before, talking about hip hop as if it were a woman and this is the best version I’ve heard yet. I was expecting this song to be about hip hop when i read it on the tracklist so i was kind of surprised at first, thinking it was yet another song about Kim. But the BAM! Good choice to reveal it at the end there. That hook is very eerie and fits the emotionally charged delivery. I still don’t get why the second hook has that brief space age change to the beat, seems weird to me lol. Doesn’t really detract from me liking the song, but i just thought it was a questionable choice. One of many top 25 Eminem songs on this album. Favorite line:
“You screaming as I walk out that I'll be missed
But when you spoke to people who meant the most to you
You left me off your list”
10/10


So Bad - this song isn’t “so bad” lol but the perfect song streak ends here for me. Typical and predictable Dre beat, almost a carbon copy of My Mom. I like the song. Nothing special but the hook is really addictive and Em sounds like his old sarcastic Shady self. I find it strange that the same man who used to rap about his penis being as small as a peanut is now rapping about how he seduces other guys’ girls and his fuck game is irresistible. But that don’t matter, good song to have on when you have a girl in your car ya dig. Fun track to change the pace.
“my love has got you so blind that you couldn’t pick Amy Winehouse out of a lineup”
8/10

Almost Famous - The Real Slim Shady spazzed the fuck out on this. Many great lines. Shit sounds like Slim Shady on steroids. One of the dopest concepts on this album as it basically takes you back to to his underground days and has him spitting even better than he was spitting underground lol. Then he gets discovered by Dre and he’s famous. The energy is incredible. This track is everything Underground was trying to be but wasn’t. Beat absolutely knocks. Favorite lines:
“I stuck my dick in this game like a rapist
They call me Slim Roethlisberger”
“Now there he goes in Dre's studio cuppin his balls
Screaming the wood off the panel
And cussing the paint off the walls”
10/10

Love The Way You Lie - And you guys didn’t want Rihanna...lol. A more restrained version of an Eminem love song compared to his prior attempts. But of course Eminem adds some of himself to it as well or else it would be a very dull track. Alex Da Kid has been dropping some heat lately. Not much else to say other that it’s a top notch song with great replay potential. Consistently thought out lyrics throughout. Favorite line:
“Now you get to watch her leave out the window
Guess that's why they call it window pane/pain”
9/10

You’re Never Over - Finally a Proof song so everyone can stop their bitching. For those hating on the hook, shit is straight from the heart without making it too sad. That’s exactly what I think Eminem was going for. I can’t imagine he would want a sad beat and have a slow Stan-like flow. As he said, he wants to celebrate Proof’s life. Second verse is nothing short of amazing. Favorite line:
“So sick it’ll blow up the mic, It’ll put the dyna in mite”
10/10

Untitled - Homie should have really left this song off and had this album end with the Proof tribute. But I guess that’s Em for you, he gonna go out spitting. Not a bad song, actually there’s some cool lines but nothing too memorable. Favorite line:
“They’re looking at me like I killed Kenny” LMAO
6.5/10

Overall, the math comes out to 8.94 but I’ll round it to 9/10 - Up there with his 2 other classics.

Final Thoughts: I’m extremely pleased with this album. Actually, blown away. The production is exactly how I wanted it to be, more of a mainstream sound with Em still spitting hard. He has the hunger of the SSLP, the anger of the MMLP, and the “big” sound of TES. That’s a perfect combo. Leave WTP, WBD, and Untitled off and you have a flawless album. With those 3 on there you still have a classic imo. I’m not gonna say which of the following 3 are better, I guess it depends on the day, but Recovery=MMLP=TES for me. Hopefully after the D12 album drops, Eminem will drop another solo album around Fall 2011, but I don’t see it being better than Recovery. For once, the hype WAS real this time.

[slimsoxshady]

this isn't fuckin chit-chat this is REAL TALK you fuckin idiots, it deserves to be seen by everyone like other Recovery Reviews people have been writing this week...put it back in the Eminem Section where it belongs NOW!!

[jshelton10]

i thought that was pretty on point except i'd give cold wind blows 10/10, won't back down 8/10 and so bad 6/10, untitled 10/10, but its all opinion! good job though

[Kez]

this isn't fuckin chit-chat this is REAL TALK you fuckin idiots, it deserves to be seen by everyone like other Recovery Reviews people have been writing this week...put it back in the Eminem Section where it belongs NOW!!

It's been agreed that reviews of the album go in Chit Chat; you don't like it T.S. However since yours is pretty well-written, it should be in Reviews; that's my mistake. Unfortunately i can't do it myself so i'll PM the other mod to move it there as soon as he gets on. Most threads of this type are in a similiar vein but not specific, in-depth reviews, so for that i apologise. Just a slight oversight of mine, but when you consider that i've spent most of tonight deleting pictures of Canibus's face, maybe you can cut me a tiny bit of slack. It by no means belongs in the main section though.

[Robbie G]

great review, I agree.

[Kez]

Okay slight edit: it had been agreed, back when Recovery first leaked, to move the "individual member's opinion" threads to Chit Chat as we both bundled all threads together because they would likely be stupid from noobs. But that time has passed. Still, it belongs in Reviews which is just a gross oversight of mine. I really fucked this one up and for that, i apologise.

[slimsoxshady]

thats fine, just move it out of the chit chat section to wherever else...i never liked this section much lol

[Kez]

thats fine, just move it out of the chit chat section to wherever else...i never liked this section much lol

I want to, i really do but for some fuckin reason, although my powers let me move threads to these two sub-sections, i have no power inside either of them, so i can't actually move it Pretty stupid to be honest. Rest assured i've PMed the other mod though and i think in his timezone right now it's late evening so i'm sure he'll be on soon and it'll be moved to the right place.

[Emadyville]

Goddamn homie, that review was perfect. Although I didn't agree with a few of your thoughts, its your opinion and I really respect that. It was great to read, honestly. I fully agree with your final thoughts as well. The way you showed it had a little of sslp, mmlp, and tes was a perfect description and exactly how I also feel about this album.

I think it's funny, because WBD was released before the leak, I listened to it nonstop, and now I agree it is a weak song on the album, but I don't think it's as bad as you made it seem. Also, I agree 100% with your description of almost famous, and you're never over. I also thought he did a great hook, made the song uplifting because, like you said, he wasn't gunna make a sad track; and finally the 2nd verse of that was nothing short of perfect, like you said.

I have one question though, where are those adlibs or ads you talked about in seduction from jay?


Great job man

[slimsoxshady]

Goddamn homie, that review was perfect. Although I didn't agree with a few of your thoughts, its your opinion and I really respect that. It was great to read, honestly. I fully agree with your final thoughts as well. The way you showed it had a little of sslp, mmlp, and tes was a perfect description and exactly how I also feel about this album.

I think it's funny, because WBD was released before the leak, I listened to it nonstop, and now I agree it is a weak song on the album, but I don't think it's as bad as you made it seem. Also, I agree 100% with your description of almost famous, and you're never over. I also thought he did a great hook, made the song uplifting because, like you said, he wasn't gunna make a sad track; and finally the 2nd verse of that was nothing short of perfect, like you said.

I have one question though, where are those adlibs or ads you talked about in seduction from jay?


Great job man

thanx for taking the time to read
i guess an adlib was the wrong choice as the "awghhh" was used in the rhyme scheme like some rappers rhyme multiple phrases in a row that all end in "n1gga"..so ye it wasn't an adlib, just an ad punched in right after the rhyme

[Emadyville]

^ o ok, I know what you're saying now, thanks

[slimsoxshady]

my fillet are smoking weed, yea faggot the steaks/stakes are high

[KillahBee]

Great review man
I would have given Untitled a higher rating and Not Afraid a lower rating, but other than that I agree with nearly everything you said

Oh, and you're right, Jim Jonsin deserves to be on every Em album after this by default, Space Bound's production is flawless

[dR3]

Great review, nice read.

[slimsoxshady]

thanx for taking the time to read guys
I wrote this review 3 days ago and I still wouldn't change a thing